Judi Gatson checks in with Susan Aude

"I'm getting better. I'm working on stamina and strength issues but you know, I think I'm over the worst of it. So I'm optimistic for the new year."

She's optimistic about her recovery, but says it's going to take some time and "patience and um, I think it just, well, I'm not 15 anymore, no spring chicken anymore. And you know it does take longer to heal, and when you've got some special circumstances you know it just kind of makes it a little longer than maybe for other people. But it's coming along I just have to be careful and take my time."

As you can imagine, some days are better than others, "You know I'll have really good days when I get a lot done and feel very energetic and then other days I'll be kinda like, whoaa, you know, it kind of hits you that maybe you did a little too much. So you just have to pace yourself."

But she's slowly getting back into her routine. She still cooks and she still has her green thumb, "I'm just umm, you know, spending time sticking a bulb in a pot."

She's even able to get out and she has big plans for Christmas, "I'm going to the hills of Tennessee, be with a lot of relatives. It'll be a lot of fun, it'll be great to see everyone. So I'm really looking forward to that."

In the meantime, she's enjoying the holidays, "I think this time of year, as crazy as it can get, people are just more thoughtful whether it's standing in line at the grocery store or letting somebody get in front of you in all that traffic or whatever it is. People just seem to just stop a little bit and think about their fellow neighbors and take the time that we should do everyday. We should all do it everyday, but this time of year people just seem to kind of get it."

And she's holding all our your thoughts and well wishes close to heart, "Just sometimes [it] really does bring tears to my eyes to think that people stopped whatever they were doing that day and thought to get a card and put the stamp on it, write a note to get it in the mail. And it's a reminder to me that I need to do that when people are in need or going through a tough time."

She told Judi she's overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from our viewers and the way they've lifted her up in prayer, "I think overwhelming is the right word. You just, you know you go about your business, you do your job and you don't feel like you deserve that much attention and then you get it and people are so sweet, so kind. And you know it's just always amazing, always amazing. There are a lot of wonderful people out there."

"Oh they're just real sweet, how are you doing and we miss you, and they just have really sweet things to say and it always touches my heart. People are really great."

And she has a message for those viewers who have sent her get well wishes, "To thank them for their thoughts, kind wishes, cards. It's very gratifying and makes you feel really special, and like you said, overwhelmed. And I just thank people so much, they add so much to my life. I never dreamed all these things would happen to me, but they did. And I'm just thankful."

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Authorities say the brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school has been arrested for trespassing at the same school.

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Authorities say the brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school has been arrested for trespassing at the same school.

(Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP). FBI agents work the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 18, 2018. At least a few people were injured in another explosion in Texas' capital late Sunday, after three package bombs detonat...

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News reports that Facebook let the Trump-affiliated data mining firm Cambridge Analytica abscond with data from tens of millions of users mark the third time in roughly a year the company appears to have been outfoxed in this way.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File). FILE - In this March 15, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump talks with reporters during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Trump is questioning the impartiality of Robert Mueller's investig...

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